Plot a pilgrim’s path

Determine a destination, believes Guy Hayward, and you may be surprised what you discover along the way “A true pilgrimage is determined by your heart and activated by your feet”

A pilgrimage is simply a walk with intention, says Guy Hayward from the British Pilgrimage Trust. “It could be about dedicating the journey to resolve some issue, or have a question answered,” he says. “A true pilgrimage is determined by your heart and activated by your feet.” Neither a religious nor a secular act, it is “open to all.”

Honouring the varied places that people find meaningful or powerful, the Trust lists many different locations as “holy” (the word comes from halig meaning ‘bringing health’). As well as multi-faith places of worship, there are ancient trees and prehistoric monuments, caves and graves, hilltops and waterfalls ( britishpilgrimage.org). A pilgrim’s purpose is entirely of their own making. “Bring your own beliefs,” says Guy. “Alternative examples might be making a pilgrimage to where your ancestor or ancestors are buried, or somewhere personally very meaningful to you, perhaps your ‘happy place.’” Destination matters, but reaching it needn’t mean an epic voyage. “I like to open a map and make a beeline for the green spaces and blue lines of streams and rivers nearby,” »

says Guy. To flesh out local walks with elements of pilgrimage, Guy uses apps like Ancient Yew Map, Labyrinths in Britain, Megalithic and Explore Churches. “The intention I set dedicates my journey to my inner life in an outer direction,” says Guy. Pilgrimage can be about better connecting with others, as well as yourself. Guy’s Masters thesis looked at how we synchronise our gait when walking and talking side-by-side.

“The rhythm of walking plays into the felt connection with our walking companions,” he says. He’s also explored the work of the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman, who found that “walking is the perfect ambulatory speed to free our minds.” Walking leads to a gentle, stimulating rise in heart rate, but isn’t so demanding that you can’t think beyond the physical task. “Walking and pilgrimage connect me to things beyond myself,” says Guy. In essence, it is a path that explores what it means to be human.